Front Porch Yoga » Postures http://www.frontporchyoga.com A Place to Pause Thu, 02 Feb 2012 14:42:14 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.1 Yoga With My Niece http://www.frontporchyoga.com/2012/01/18/yoga-with-my-niece/ http://www.frontporchyoga.com/2012/01/18/yoga-with-my-niece/#comments Wed, 18 Jan 2012 14:35:49 +0000 Grace http://www.frontporchyoga.com/?p=2105 When my niece was born, I was overcome with this desire to share all my big life lessons with her- immediately. I wanted her to know all the things that made my life easier, happier, and more peaceful. Obviously, yoga is a huge part of that list.

I discovered this super cute board game on Tiffany’s Green and Natural Parenting blog called The Yoga Garden. It’s meant for ages 4 and up, and my niece is only 3, but I decided I really wanted to buy it for her for Christmas this year.

“The Yoga Garden is a cooperative game where the objective is to plant a flower garden before night falls. As players move the bumblebee marker around the board, they learn classic yoga postures, as well as have the chance to invent their own!”

I think it’s so important to introduce children to healthy habits when they are young, so that they become part of their lifestyle from the very beginning. And not to be too cutesy, but I love the idea of planting the seed of yoga in the garden of her mind when she is so little and then watching it grow as she grows!

It turns out, she loves the game. She loved rolling the dice, planting the flowers, and showing us all the yoga poses that she is familiar with. I think as she gets older, she will enjoy making up her own  yoga poses as well.

Her Daddy has been playing it with her at home, so even when I’m not around, she’s still getting a dose of yoga goodness. Makes me feel all warm and fuzzy inside! I love sharing the yoga glow…

Did you share your love of yoga with anyone this holiday season?

Choose love,
Grace

[I purchased The Yoga Game on Amazon.com: the opinions I shared here are my own, and I was not paid to write this post.]

]]> http://www.frontporchyoga.com/2012/01/18/yoga-with-my-niece/feed/ 0 Ear Plug Idea http://www.frontporchyoga.com/2011/11/02/ear-plug-idea/ http://www.frontporchyoga.com/2011/11/02/ear-plug-idea/#comments Wed, 02 Nov 2011 11:13:48 +0000 Grace http://www.frontporchyoga.com/?p=1997 One day this past week I wore ear plugs during my morning home practice. This simple trick is an excellent tool to help you focus on your breath. The sound of the breath is amplified, so it’s hard to ignore. It also helps you to distinguish where you tend to hold the breath. We often hold our breath in balancing postures to try to prevent ourselves from falling over. It’s like when someone says “Don’t move!” and we instinctively suck our breath in and hold it! I often tell my students that if you are breathing with awareness, then you are doing yoga (so it doesn’t matter if your asana falls apart, as long as your breath is steady).

My breath observation from this past week was that after chaturanga dandasana I tend to get less air on the inhale when I am lifting from low push up to upward facing dog. Anyone have any suggestions on how to receive more breath in that transition?

Next time you’re at home practicing, put a pair of ear plugs in, and see how that changes your experience on your mat!

Choose love,
Grace

]]> http://www.frontporchyoga.com/2011/11/02/ear-plug-idea/feed/ 0 Teacher Training Journal: Sun Salutes http://www.frontporchyoga.com/2011/09/16/teacher-training-journal-sun-salutes/ http://www.frontporchyoga.com/2011/09/16/teacher-training-journal-sun-salutes/#comments Fri, 16 Sep 2011 11:36:41 +0000 Grace http://www.frontporchyoga.com/?p=1907 This post is part of a series of unedited journal entries from my yoga teacher training…Welcome to the roller coaster of my sweet, honest reflections! 

*MDR= minimum daily requirement (we were supposed to do at least 5 sun salutation A’s and 5 sun salutation B’s every day)

Tues. 10/14/08  5:30am Home- MDR*

Before this training I would do a 30 min. vinyasa practice each morning, but I would do maybe 2-3 sun salutes. Only 2-3. It was like I was rushing to get to the “good stuff” – the standing and twisting postures. But I’ve learned just yesterday and today how much internal HEAT I build up just by doing SSA+B 5 times each…I lost count of how many I had done! When in doubt, add one more- my new motto!

Previous Teacher Training Journal posts:

Focus
5 Beautiful Years
Chatterbox

]]> http://www.frontporchyoga.com/2011/09/16/teacher-training-journal-sun-salutes/feed/ 0 Hip to be Square http://www.frontporchyoga.com/2011/08/21/hip-to-be-square/ http://www.frontporchyoga.com/2011/08/21/hip-to-be-square/#comments Sun, 21 Aug 2011 11:47:14 +0000 Grace http://www.frontporchyoga.com/?p=1773

My lower body is completely relaxed here: see how my feet turn in? (and how 'bout those crazy sexy flip flop tan lines?!)

I found out before moving to Boston that my hips rotate internally- in a major way.

“So?” you may ask.

This was a HUGE DISCOVERY and has completely changed my practice and my perspective on my body.

With my adventures in yin yoga, I have been exploring how MY body works, much deeper than any other experience. And after a morning session of all hip openers that left me in tears the next day from a painful burning sensation in my left hip joint, I had to do some further investigating…

I discovered, with the help of my amazing yin teacher Amanda, that my bones in the hip joints only turn out so far (so far = not so much). My range of motion is limited. This means that all those years that I have been telling myself that my hips are tight due to muscles, I was wrong: compression was the culprit all along! I kept thinking that over time, if I did enough yoga and enough stretching, I would eventually be able to sit in padmasana. Or get my foot behind my head. If I was committed to my practice, I would get flexible enough to twist myself into a pretzel. I know, I know. I wasn’t living in the present or accepting my body the way it was. And I spent the past 7 years hating pigeon and being told that the pose you hate the most is the one that you need the most: when in fact, all I needed to do was modify the pose to make it more safe for my particular alignment.

Lesson learned: The saying “every body is different” couldn’t be more true!

I truly believe that this discovery will help me be a better teacher…

What recent self discovery have you made, whether on or off your mat?

Choose love,
Grace

]]> http://www.frontporchyoga.com/2011/08/21/hip-to-be-square/feed/ 2 Teacher Training Journal: Focus http://www.frontporchyoga.com/2011/07/27/teacher-training-journal-focus/ http://www.frontporchyoga.com/2011/07/27/teacher-training-journal-focus/#comments Wed, 27 Jul 2011 21:25:56 +0000 Grace http://www.frontporchyoga.com/?p=1784 This post is part of a series of unedited journal entries from my yoga teacher training…Welcome to the roller coaster of my sweet, honest reflections! 

10/12/08 ~Amber
Modified Primary Series
I loved the SILENCE during sun salutations- very calming + peaceful. Although once we started SSB, it seemed like everyone was trying to keep up/catch up with Amber. She seemed fast once we got flowing. My shoulders and upper arms were screaming at me after the sun salutes! They are so sore. I tried to breathe through the pain and keep in mind that the pain is a mind-made illusion. I CAN DO THIS! Amber pointed out specific drishti for each pose in sun salutes, which was really helpful. I never thought about how if I focus my eyes on a point it will help me to concentrate or stay focused. Yoga teachers say that all the time, but I always thought that telling us where to look was just to help us have the alignment right in the pose. But it also helps me stay engaged. Fascinating realization!

Previous Teacher Training Journal posts:

5 Beautiful Years
Chatterbox

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